ASSEMBLY AWARDS

Week 8 Awards:

Milo's Tennis awards:

Week 9 Awards:

Congratulations to all our students who have received an award in the last fortnight.

Students have been working hard to achieve these acknowledgements.

Mustering Growth

During week 9 the year 5/6 classes worked with Marg and Rani from Rural Aid to participate in the Mustering Growth program. The program focuses on mental health resilience and specifically works with primary students in rural and remote areas. It allowed students to work on team building skills, discuss emotions and feelings and develop coping strategies for when we come across tough times in our life.

Artists in Residence:

Darcie and Evie have been busy in the digging pits creating sculptures for us all to enjoy! Their speciality is in animals and we have been gifted with a horse creation, followed by a turtle and currently there is an underwater world being designed and created for all.

Ryan has also taken to creating sand sculptures for the students -

What a talented trio! We love seeing our young people showcasing hidden talents.

DOGS CONNECT:

Sully had his last day on Monday.

He has loved spending time at St Joseph's and has especially loved the extra interaction (aka pats and hugs) that he has over his last week.

Sully is looking forward to being back with us in 2024!

END OF THE YEAR

The end of the school year can be an exhausting time for everyone, especially for kids! Parents, teachers and mental health professionals often feel burnt out while trying to figure out how to navigate through this transitional time. We all know one thing – Summer holidays are the time for a much-needed break for all!

Here are 5 helpful tips:

Plan an activity that is enjoyable.

We all need a break and having something to look forward to is likely to lighten anyone’s mood!

Let yourself experience your emotions.

It is helpful to normalize what we are feeling after a long and stressful school year. If your child feels stressed and tired, it is ok to encourage them to talk about how they are feeling. Let them know that talking through their emotions is healthy.

Keep the end in mind.

Stress is handled more effectively when we can visualize an endpoint. Looking at the calendar and seeing the last day of school written, 1st day of camp or even blank pages eases the mind. Think about today and allow yourself to imagine having the well-deserved break that is ahead!

Practice mindfulness.

Anxious feelings are often revealed in different ways. They can show up as a sudden stomach pain, difficulty in sleeping, getting easily annoyed at others or simply feeling unmotivated to do anything. Practice staying in the moment by closing your eyes and taking deep breaths. Focus solely on your breathing and imagine somewhere that makes you feel calm or happy.

Accept what is already done.

Practice being at peace with what you have accomplished this year and commit to starting fresh in 2024 on any challenges you faced this school year. Give yourself a pat on the back- you certainly earned it!

ATTENDANCE

You may have received a text message from school asking to clarify if your child is absent. This is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your child(ren).

If you are travelling for an extended period we ask that you visit Maria in the office or send an email to mariaw@sjrochester.catholic.edu.au with absence dates.

Whilst we understand there will be unavoidable absences, we ask that you make the school aware of these by calling the office on 54841797 or logging the absence on PAM.

** Children who arrive after 9am are to enter via the office and sign in via PassTab to record the time of arrival.

** Parents of children who are being picked up during the school day are asked to enter the office to sign their child out. While children can use the PassTab iPad, we must see and speak to the parent/carer picking the child/children up.

CREATING CONNECTIONS - Echuca based support service for families

Workshops and seminars

St Joseph's PS Newsletter

PEOPLE OF STRENGTH - PEOPLE OF GENTLENESS

Term 4, Week 10 · 08 Dec 2023

In this issue